William wallace goodwin



@glatten tatrs gatrnt @met WILLIAM WALLACE GOODWIN, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

Letters .Patent No. 76,908, dateoZAprz'l 21, 1868; afntedated November 5, 1867.-

IMPROVEMET IN DRY GAS-METERS.

TO ALL WHOM 1T MAY OONCERN: A v

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WALLACE GooDwLu, of the city of Camden, county of Camden, and Stato of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Dry Gas-Meter; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-i Figures 1 and 2 are plan views of the said improvement applied, and

Figure 3 a vertical section of the same.

In the l:nanufactureof dry gas-meters it has become a matter of necessity to have some more reliable provision against the fraudulent consumption of the gas eifeeted by reversing the relative points of connection of the meter with the supply and discharge-pipes, and thus avoiding a registration of the same. Several devices have been invented and applied for the purpose, which effect the object in agreater or less degree, in proportion tothe varying conditions of the meter in respect to adhesions frein the deposits of coal-tar about thejoints of the devices, and to the varying pressure ofthe gasometer.

The object of my improvement is to afford a more perfectly effectual and reliable device for stopping and starting the flow of gas through the meter, when the direction of the current is changed by reversing the meter, as stated, and that will not be prevented either by the deposits of coal-tar or the variations in the pressure of the gasometer, from acting promptly for the purpose. o

My invention consists in the construction and application of a device whereby the-orifice in the plate through which the current passes to or from the valves will he either entirely closed or fully opened thereby, in accordance with the relative positions of the meter between the supply and the discharge-pipes,substantially as hereinafter described.

Referring to the drawings, A B is the lever, C the disk, and D the spring of the new device; E, the orifice, through which the gas enters and reaches the outlet-valves F F G, the usual rotatory shaft, which operates the valves F F; and H H sections of the usual flag-stads, which', through the ordinary jointed arms, (indicated by the dotted lines 11,) give the necessary rotary motion to the shaft G.

Construction.

The lever A -B is attached, in a horizontal position, to a plate, I, (which is fixed to the usual top-plate, J, of the meter,) by means of apivot, c,"which serves as its fulcrum, and to one of its arms B the disk C is secured by means of'a vertical spindle, c', which is fixed in the centre of the diskaC, and extends upward through a roomy hole in the end of the arm B of the said lever A B, while at the end oi' the other arm, A, there is a fixed stud,a, which carries a light, tilting, stop-lever or click, Z, over which an arm, m, (which is fixed en the crank solas to project horizontally from the shaft G,) passes around freely and over Z by tilting it, when the shaft G is rotated'in the legitimate direction indicated by the arrow w in tig. 1. On the lever A B there is fixed another small stud, a", in which one end of the bentv spring D is fixed, while the other end of said spring is fixed in a stud, e", on the plate I.

The length of the arm B from the centre of the fulcruln-point K to the centre of the disk-spindle e in its end, is exactly equal to the distance which is between the said fulcrum-pivot Ie and the centre of the orifice E; and therange of the end of the arm A of the said lever, between the stud z" and the step g of the shaft G, is made just sucient to allow the disk C to be alternately brought concentrically over the orifice E, as shown in iig. 2, or entirely away from it, as shown in fig. 1. The disk C is a thin piece ofsheet metal, bent so as to be concave en its under side, as shown in fig. 3.

, Operation.

The action of the spring l) upon the stud a keeps the disk C in the position shown in iig. 1, while thegas llows in the legitimate direction through the meter, as indicated by the arrows thereon, but, when the meter is reversed in respect to the supply and discharge-pipes, an immediate change is produced in the movement of the bellows-disks, (not shown in th'edrowingsn und consequently a reverse movement of the iiow of gas through the meter,.until the arm mon the rotating shaft G abuts against the short end of the click or tilting stop-lever Z, and forces the arm A of lever A B around before-it, and compressing the spring D until` the said arm is brought into contact with the step g', and thus the rotary motion ofthe shaft G arrested, the disk C having at thesame time been brought concentrically over the orifice E, and thus being held more closely upon the plate I by the pressure of the gasometer, eifectually preventing any further flow of the .gas down through said orifice, (sec figs. 2 and 3;) but, as soon as the meter is again reversed in respect to the supply and discharge-pipes, the pressure f the gas lifts the disk C suiic'ently to afford a current, and thus allow the bellows-disks to move and give a rotary motion in the proper direction to the shaft'G, which, carrying the arm m with it, consequently allows the spring' D, by its reaction, to move the lever A B, with the disk C,- back to its original position, thus entirely removing the said disk away, and leaving the orifice E wholly unobstructed, as seen in fig. l..

The boundary edge only of the lower side of the disk C being in contactV with the plate I, and being also very thin, a suiiicient` amount of adhesion to prevent its being lifted by the pressure of the gas iu the meter can never take place when the orifice E is closed; and, however long a time thc meter may have been in action in the legitimate manner, the pressure of the gas upon the bellows-disks, if the meter be reversed, will always be gratlymore than necessary to overcome any adhesion that may then-exist between the disk C and plate 1',

and will cause it to be promptly moved from the position beside the orifice E, as showny in 6g. 1, to the position shown in tig. 2 closing the orifice.

It will therefore bd seen that this device will be perfectly elfectivc and reliable for stopping the llow of gas through the meter when the legitimate direction of the current is changed by reversing the meter, as stated, and Vthat any deposits of coal-tar, or variation of the pressure of the gasometer or fountain-head of supply, will not prevent the device from acting promptly in either accurately closing or fully and certainlyopening the oriice through which the current of gas legitimately passes through the' meter.

I am aware that a hinged valve, inclined planes, and butterfly-valves have been applied to dry gas-meters, so as to close and open the orifice of supply or discharge, as the case may be, but neither of these devices effects a full and unobstructed opening of the orifice, which is a matter of the highest importance, and is fully attained by my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, and what I believe to be the best mode of constructing and operating the same, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is confined to the following, viz:

I claim the application, to a dry gas-meter, of a device or combination of devices whereby the oricein thc plate through which the current of gas passes to or from the valves, will be either entirely closed or fully opened thereby, in accordance with the relative positions of the meter between the supply and discharge-pipes, as described, the said device or combination of devices being constructed and operated in the mannen herein described, or in any other manner that will produce the same effect.

WM. WALLACE GOODWIN.

Witnesses:

BENJ. MonIsoN, WM; H. MomsoN. 

